FAA Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) Program – An alternate solution for flight tracking privacy
Effectivity: Challenger 300, Challenger 350, Challenger 604, Challenger 605, Challenger 650, Global Express, Global XRS, Global 5000, Global 6000, Global 6500, Global 5500, Global 5000 Vision, and Global 7500 aircraft
ATA 34: Navigation
By Joël Levasseur – Technical Services Following the introduction of ADS-B broadcast data, the aviation industry has faced ongoing challenges to keep the aircraft owner/operator’s personally identifiable information (PII) secure. There are more and more voices raising different concerns from violation of privacy and hacking up to cyber-espionage and asking for a feasible solution to protect the aircraft owner/operator’s privacy amid the complexity of flight tracking data availability.
One of the earliest proposed solutions was the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Block Aircraft Registry Request (BARR) program, which has now become the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program. It offers operators a path to request that identifying information be shielded from public access.
In December 2019, the FAA launched the Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program to provide owners/operators with a solution to flight tracking privacy through an alternate ICAO address, which will not be assigned to the owner in the Civil Aviation Registry (CAR). The following requirements must be met to be eligible for the FAA’s PIA program:
U.S. registered aircraft
1090 MHz ADS-B equipped
approved/authorized to use a third-party call sign(s)
flying in domestic U.S. airspace (excludes oceanic airspace greater than 12 nm from shore)
The PIA program is intended only for flights that start and terminate within the sovereign and territorial airspace of the United States (i.e., the airspace above the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, and U.S. territorial waters). For an international flight, the operator shall revert to the CAR ICAO address used by the transponders.
Bombardier has developed a checklist to help operators and technicians with key items and systems that require configuration changes, as well as Aircraft Maintenance Manual/Publication (AMM/AMP) references. The “FAA PRIVACY ICAO ADDRESS (PIA) AFFECTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS - CHECKLIST” is posted and available on the Bombardier Customer Portal: https://my.businessaircraft.bombardier.com/
For any additional information related to:
• Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program, please check the following FAA website: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/equipadsb/privacy
• Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program, please check the following FAA website: https://www.faa.gov/pilots/ladd